American college football season
The 2023 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Huskies are led by fifth-year head coach Thomas Hammock and played their home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois .[1] [2] They finished the regular season 6–6 and 5–3 in conference play [3] They played Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl , who they beat 21–19.[4]
Preseason
Preseason polls
Coaches Poll
On July 20, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Northern Illinois was picked to finish third in the West.[5]
East
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Ohio
63 (9)
2
Miami
52 (2)
3
Buffalo
51 (1)
4
Bowling Green
35
5
Akron
26
6
Kent State
19
West
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Toledo
66 (11)
2
Eastern Michigan
55 (1)
3
Northern Illinois
38
4
Central Michigan
37
5
Ball State
27
6
Western Michigan
23
Coaches poll (MAC Championship)
Rank
Team
Votes
1
Toledo
7
2
Ohio
4
3
Buffalo
1
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance September 2 11:00 a.m. at Boston College * ACCN W 27–24 OT 30,122
September 9 2:30 p.m. No. 24 (FCS ) Southern Illinois * ESPN+ L 11–1413,114
September 16 6:00 p.m. at Nebraska * FS1 L 11–3586,875
September 23 11:00 a.m. Tulsa * CBSSN L 14–2210,321
September 30 2:30 p.m. at Toledo ESPNU L 33–3523,417
October 7 2:30 p.m. at Akron ESPN+ W 55–148,216
October 14 3:00 p.m. Ohio ESPNU W 23–1311,143
October 21 2:30 p.m. Eastern Michigan ESPN+ W 20–139,458
6:00 p.m. at Central Michigan ESPNU L 31–379,625
6:00 p.m. Ball State CBSSN L 17–206,282
6:00 p.m. Western Michigan ESPNU W 24–06,417
November 25 11:00 a.m. at Kent State ESPN+ W 37–275,427
December 23 11:00 a.m. vs. Arkansas State * ESPN W 21–1911,310
[6] [7]
Game summaries
at Boston College
Northern Illinois (0–0) @ Boston College (0–0)
Period
1
2
3 4 OT Total
Huskies
0
7
7 7 6 27
Eagles
0
0
7 14 3 24
at Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Date : September 2, 2022Game time : 11:04 pm CDT Game attendance : 30,122Referee : Billy WilliamsTV announcers (ACCN ) : Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst)
Game information
Second quarter
(02:44) NIU TD: Antario Brown 7–yard pass from Justin Lynch (Jake Seibert kick) NIU 7–0 ; 8 plays, 60 yards, 5:14.
Third quarter
(10:33) NIU TD: Antario Brown 2–yard run (Jake Seibert kick) NIU 14–0 ; 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:27.
(04:58) BC TD: Lewis Bond 11–yard pass from Thomas Castellanos (Liam Connor kick) NIU 14–7 ; 5 plays, 25 yards, 1:55.
Fourth quarter
(09:24) NIU TD: Brock Lampe 1–yard run (Jake Seibert kick) NIU 21–7 ; 12 plays, 55 yards, 7:04.
(05:59) BC TD: Thomas Castellanos 2–yard run (Liam Connor kick) NIU 21–14 ; 10 plays, 59 yards, 3:24.
(01:44) BC TD: Jaden Williams 30-yard pass from Thomas Castellanos (Liam Conner kick) TIE 21–21 ; 6 plays 83 yards, 1:39
Overtime
(00:00) BC FG: Liam Connor 39-yard field goal BC 24–21 ; 4 plays, 4 yards, 0:00.
(00:00) NIU TD: Rocky Lombardi 1-yard run NIU 27–24 ; 4 plays, 25 yards, 0:00.
Statistics
NIU
BC
First downs
21
19
Plays–yards
78–338
66–314
Rushes–yards
48–166
28–146
Passing yards
172
168
Passing: comp–att–int
14–30–0
17–38–1
Time of possession
36:53
23:07
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
NIU
Passing
Rocky Lombardi
13/29, 165 yds
Rushing
Gavin Williams
15 rushes, 61 yds
Receiving
Kacper Rutkiewicz
5 receptions, 46 yds
BC
Passing
Thomas Castellanos
13/28, 138 yds, 2 TDs, INT
Rushing
Thomas Castellanos
9 rushes, 74 yds, TD
Receiving
Lewis Bond
4 receptions, 40 yds, TD
Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois (1–0) at Northern Illinois (1–0)
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Salukis
7
0
7 0 14
Huskies
0
0
3 8 11
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
Date : September 9, 2023Game time : 2:32 pm CDTGame attendance : 13,114Referee : Matt PackowskiTV : ESPN+
Game information
First quarter
(01:58) SIU TD: Nic Baker 8-yard run (Thomas Burks kick) SIU 7–0 ; 5 plays, 70 yards, 2:48.
Third quarter
(11:45) SIU TD: Ro Elliott 10–yard run (Thomas Burks kick) SIU 14–0 ; 5 plays, 57 yards, 2:48.
(05:35) NIU FG: Jake Siebert 27-yard field goal SIU 14–3 ; 13 plays, 65 yards, 6:10.
Fourth quarter
(09:24) NIU TD: Kacper Rutkiewicz 62-yard pass from Rocky Lombardi (Rocky Lombardi pass) SIU 14–11 ; 9 plays, 99 yards, 4:56.
Statistics
SIU
NIU
First downs
12
19
Plays–yards
50–217
72–360
Rushes–yards
26–73
34–63
Passing yards
144
297
Passing: comp–att–int
16–24–0
23–38–3
Time of possession
24:01
35:59
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
SIU
Passing
Nic Baker
16/24, 144 yds
Rushing
Ro Elliott
9 rushes, 62 yds
Receiving
Aidan Quinn
2 receptions, 47 yds
NIU
Passing
Rocky Lombardi
23/38, 297 yds, TD, 3 INTs
Rushing
Antario Brown
22 rushes, 66 yds
Receiving
Kacper Rutkiewicz
6 receptions, 139 yds, TD
at Nebraska
Northern Illinois (1–1) at Nebraska (0–2)
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Huskies
3
0
0 8 11
Cornhuskers
7
7
7 14 35
at Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska
Date : September 16, 2023Game time : 6:00 pm CDTGame weather : Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: North at 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) • Weather: SunnyGame attendance : 86,875Referee : Chris CoyteTV announcers (FS1 ) : Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analyst)
Game information
First quarter
(9:39) NEB - Billy Kemp IV 10-yard pass from Heinrich Haarberg, Tristan Alvano kick (6 plays, 55 yards, 3:17, Nebraska 7-0 )
(3:08) NIU - Jake Seibert 30-yard field goal ('4 plays, -8 yards, 2:13, Nebraska 7-3 )
Second quarter
(3:15) NEB – Thomas Fidone II 16-yard pass from Heinrich Haarberg, Tristan Alvano kick (4 plays, 36 yards, 2:14, Nebraska 14-3 )
Third quarter
(1:00) NEB – Gabe Ervin Jr. 3-yard run, Tristan Alvano kick (14 plays, 76 yards, 7:10, Nebraska 21-3 )
Fourth Quarter
(8:19) NEB – Heinrich Haarberg 20-yard run, Tristan Alvano kick (9 plays, 65 yards, 5:33, Nebraska 28-3 )
(3:23) NEB – Anthony Grant 11-yard run, Tristan Alvano kick (5 plays, 35 yards, 3:07, Nebraska 35-3 )
(0:04) NIU – Ethan Hampton 4-yard pass from Chris Carter, Billy Dozier 2-pt PAT pass from Chris Carter (11 plays, 75 yards, 3:19, Nebraska 35-11 )
Statistics
NIU
Neb
First downs
12
23
Plays–yards
149
382
Rushes–yards
22–26
44–224
Passing yards
123
158
Passing: comp–att–int
17–36–1
14–24–0
Time of possession
23:43
36:17
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
NIU
Passing
Rocky Lombardi
11/28, 73 yds, 1 INT
Rushing
Antario Brown
8 carries, 16 yds
Receiving
Davis Patterson
2 rec, 30 yds
Neb
Passing
Heinrich Haarberg
14/24, 158 yds, 2 TD
Rushing
Heinrich Haarberg
21 carries, 98 yds
Receiving
Thomas Fidone II
4 rec, 42 yds, 1 TD
vs Tulsa
Tulsa (1–2) at Northern Illinois (1–2)
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Golden Hurricane
2
7
3 10 22
Huskies
0
7
7 0 14
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
Date : September 23, 2023Game time : 11:00 am CDTTV : CBSSN
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics
Tul
NIU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Tul
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
NIU
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
at Toledo
at Akron
vs Ohio
Ohio Bobcats(5–1) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (2–4)
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Bobcats
3
10
0 0 13
Huskies
7
0
10 6 23
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL
Date : Saturday, October 14, 2023Game time : 3:00 p.m. CDT Game weather : cloudy, Temperature :53 °F (12 °C), Wind :Southwest 17 mphGame attendance : 11,143Referee : Andrew SpecialeTV announcers (ESPNU ) : Drew Carter , Dustin Fox Pregame line :Ohio -5.5; O/U 45.0 • Ohio notes, boxcore
Game information
First Quarter
(08:18) NIU - Gavin Williams 53 Yd Run (Kanon Woodill Kick) 7 plays, 85 yards, TOP 04:05 (NIU 7–0)
(03:04) OHIO - Gianni Spetic 27 Yd Field Goal 10 plays, 51 yards, TOP 05:10 (NIU 7–3)
Second Quarter
(10:22) OHIO - Kurtis Rourke 1 Yd Run (Gianni Spetic Kick) 13 plays, 60 yards, TOP 07:00 (OHIO 10–7)
(00:07) OHIO - Gianni Spetic 37 Yd Field Goal 16 plays, 69 yards, TOP 06:00 (OHIO 13–7)
Third Quarter
(12:54) NIU - Grayson Barnes 58 Yd pass from Rocky Lombardi (Kanon Woodill Kick) 3 plays, 66 yards, TOP 01:10 (NIU 14–13)
(02:12) NIU - Kanon Woodill 31 Yd Field Goal 12 plays, 68 yards, TOP 06:50 (NIU 17–13)
Fourth Quarter
(10:31) NIU - Kanon Woodill 37 Yd Field Goal 9 plays, 40 yards, TOP 05:11 (NIU 20–13)
(08:09) NIU - Kanon Woodill 32 Yd Field Goal 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 02:05 (NIU 23–13)
Statistics
Ohio
Northern Illinois
First downs
16
13
Total yards
254
302
Rushes/yards
159
172
Passing yards
159
172
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
22–36–3
15–23–0
Time of possession
28:15
31:45
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Ohio
Passing
Kurtis Rourke
23/36, 159 yards, 3 INT
Rushing
O'Shaan Allison
11 rushes, 43 yards
Receiving
Sam Wiglusz
4 receptions, 37 yards
Northern Illinois
Passing
Rocky Lombardi
15/23, 172 yards, 1 TD
Rushing
Gavin Williams
10 rushes, 55 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Grayson Barnes
2 receptions, 66 yards, 1 TD
vs Eastern Michigan
at Central Michigan
vs Ball State
vs Western Michigan
at Kent State
References
^ "Thomas Hammock". NIU Athletics . Retrieved February 24, 2023 .
^ "Huskie Stadium". NIU Athletics . Retrieved February 24, 2023 .
^ "MAC College Football Standings - 2023". espn.com . ESPN. Retrieved December 8, 2023 .
^ Donaldson, Maxwell (December 3, 2023). "Camellia Bowl: Which teams are coming to Montgomery? Date, time, TV, ticket info". yahoo.com . Gadsden Times. Retrieved December 8, 2023 .
^ "MAC football preseason poll: Toledo picked to win conference championship; BGSU tabbed to finish fourth in MAC East". wtol.com . WTOL 11. July 20, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2023 Northern Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com . Retrieved February 24, 2023 .
^ "Northern Illinois Huskies Schedule 2023". ESPN .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore
"Huskie Fight Song"
Huskie Band
People Seasons National championship seasons in bold